What’s love got to do with it?
by Moiranna
Summary: DISCONTINUED: RenoxCloud Reno offers Cloud something that they both want, however things are more complicated than what one first could guess.
1. Part one

**Title : **What's love got to do with it – Part One  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Realm: **Final Fantasy Advent Children  
**Pairing: **RenoxCloud, CloudxTifa  
**Genre: **romance, drama, humour  
**Warnings: **OOC-ness, some movie and game-spoilers  
**Word-count**:1941  
**Summary: **Reno offers Cloud something they both want, however things are more complicated than what one first could guess.  
**Notes: **I don't know why I continue to write from Chocobo-head's PoV… probably because as a lass it's easier for me to write from the girl's PoV -laughs heartily-  
I split this into three parts because I felt that it was too much of a break-off from the original storyline; so first comes the past and present; and then in the two follow-up chapters come more of what I originally planned. Yes – the story is complete, however I'm keeping back the NC-17 of the final part.

- - -

"You're late."

The words greeted the blonde ex-Soldier when he first stepped through the entrance of the dimly lit bar; making him turn his eyes almost instantly towards the back of it; which was from where the voice had come.

Not making any comments he made his way back towards the redheaded man that sprawled over his chair while lazily leaning back against the wall; sipping on what appeared to be whiskey – neat on the rocks. Mako-enhanced eyes took in the customary black suit and that only three of the seven shirt-buttons had been made and that though the silk of the shirt proved it to be new the fabric had already managed to get rumpled.

"How can Shinra allow you to wear that?" the blonde asked, surprising even himself with the question.

Reno glanced down at his clothes very briefly before shrugging his shoulders a fraction, letting the hollow of his throat show more clearly through the gap in the clothing.

"My, my Strife, concerned about my clothing, now are you?" the redhead retorted, watching how the other shifted the position of the large buster-sword to settle down on the chair opposite to his own.

"More that I don't understand why Tseng hasn't kicked you off years ago," Cloud replied, before shifting his gaze to look at the white-haired waitress that came towards them. "I'll have the usual, Terra."

The young woman gave a brief nod, and after checking that Reno still had something to drink she turned her heel, the long braid of hair trailing after her.

"Though a pretty-boy like you might not think it I have other qualities that overrides the way I clothe myself."

Cloud frowned and his lips tightened a fraction, but he didn't respond to it. "Anyhow, that's not why I wanted you here, yo," Reno continued calmly.

The blonde said nothing but waited for the redhead to get to the point, a raised eyebrow being the only thing to show of his impatience. Reno took his sweet time, taking another sip of the amber liquid before placing down the glass, the mischief gone from his eyes for the briefest of moments; as fast as if Cloud hadn't been watching closely he wouldn't have observed it, and his ears picked up the sound of footsteps approaching from behind. Terra put down the tall glass of blackish brown liquid and Cloud gave the briefest of nods to her, a murmured 'thanks' before she took off again. When once again turning his eyes to Reno he found that the other watched him curiously as Cloud took a token sip of the liquid. Cloud gave him another pointed look that without asked what he didn't say our loud.

"Never pinned you to be much for alcohol," Reno said.

The warrior shrugged and took another sip of the bitter beverage. "I drink when I'm not driving."

They drifted into a strangely peaceful silence for a few minutes where Cloud found himself looking at Reno's left hand that loosely rested on the table, studying the unusually well kept fingernails and a small scar that leapt from the index finger to the pinkie, as if whatever had injured him had taken across the knuckles instead of cutting the fingers off. Absentmindedly he remembered that it was around that wrist Reno kept the EMR strapped; and considering that the redhead used the weapon as a blade occasionally it wasn't really surprising that someone's blade had nicked him.

Cloud suddenly felt that he was being watched, and it didn't take him many moments to figure out whose eyes it was that studied him. Taking the excuse to take another sip of his drink he raised his eyes and indeed found a pair of blue eyes watching him with that sly edge that made him fight not to twitch or fidget; the one reason that he felt that he could never really trust the Turk – no matter whose side he stood on.

Reno suddenly gave a slight shake of his head and gave the briefest of smiles, ignoring the way that Cloud silently inquired what it was that was so funny.

"As I was saying before… I didn't drag you here for nothing, even though the conversation we're having clearly is uplifting," Reno finally said.

"Indeed?"

"In fact I've got a suggestion. Neither of us has wanted to acknowledge what happened the night after that the Remnants were killed."

Reno saw the instant way that the muscles of Cloud's arms flexed from when his hands tightened minutely and how he forced himself to calm down and not show it; but unless he'd been looking for just those signs it was doubtable that he would have. Reno could see how Cloud's eyes almost involuntarily looked him over, his mind minutely remembering that night – the climax after so many months – no, _years_, of waiting.

"What about it?" Cloud said in a tone slightly hoarse, reaching to take the glass and swallowing a mouthful, effectively giving himself to busy himself with and try to cover up his lapse.

Reno practically rolled his eyes, having anticipated this reaction from the moment he'd seen the blonde step into the bar; however he managed to refrain from the movement, knowing that he'd have to play smartly to get what he wished… but then again; Reno and words didn't exactly match up.

"We're allies, but we're never going to be best friends or anything similar," Reno said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. "But I'm not blind, and I've felt the sexual tension between us for years. It complicates matters when we're forced to work together, distracts us from the target at hand."

Cloud's eyes had for a few moments been strictly focused on the glass and its contents, but he placed it down and listened to Reno, silently agreeing in what he said. Things were complicated enough as they were, and the lot of this had been going on for as long as he could remember. Maybe not that first time they'd met… but at Wutai. Oh yeah – it had been there even as far back as that.

"It's never going to be a 'happily ever after' thing between us; it's pure physical attraction," Cloud said in a tone that noted that he too had given it some thought.

"Precisely," Reno agreed, leaning forwards in his seat. "So, what do you suggest, that we meet up every once in a while, relieving the tension?"

Cloud was silent for some moments, seeming to ponder the question.

"I love Tifa," he finally said with a minute shake of his head.

"And I Elena. It was actually she that suggested that I should go for you."

This caused the blonde warrior to raise both eyebrows and stare at Reno with disbelief. Whether it was that Reno and Elena was an item or that she was supporting in the matter of Cloud was hard to tell.

"What? It's not like she can compete with a guy, now can she? Besides – she likes to watch," Reno said with a roguish grin, ruining all of the seriousness that had been showing on his face for the past couple of minutes.

Cloud gave a half-shrug at that, but he still looked far too serious for the situation as he lowered his head slightly to the side, letting blonde bangs cover his eyes. "I don't want to hurt her," he said in a tone that showed that he'd set his mind.

Reno looked indifferent to what Cloud had just said, and finished his drink in a swipe.

"Your choice. But I'd talk to her if I were you. You'd be surprised of how understanding Tifa can be."

With those words Reno rose from his seat, throwing some bills on the table before scribbling some words on a business card, leaving that behind as well, acting as if it meant nothing to him whether Cloud actually took the card or not.

Reno was already halfway to the door when Cloud even came to think of Reno's phrasing, and yet another few seconds later it really sank in what Reno had meant with the words.

Cloud remained by the table and sipped on his coffee quietly, staring at the card without picking it up, thoughts rolling around in his head. Memories of that night kept on popping up in his head; of how he'd left the victory-party at Seventh heaven to just drift around, finally to find himself at Aerith's church, staring down at the holy water. How he'd gazed at his reflection for such a long time that he couldn't quite recall it, just suddenly knowing that he wasn't alone anymore, but at the same thing that the presence had meant him no harm. He'd heard the steps come towards him, felt the person in question stand next to him, not saying a word but gazing down at the water with him. Then he'd found himself looking at that person in question, just seeing the way those eyes met his with knowledge deeper than anything else he'd seen – as if he knew the answer to all of his prayers. And he saw a hunger that was so tightly kept in check that he wouldn't have seen it if he hadn't been feeling it too. He didn't know what his own eyes had showed, only knew that the next moment Reno had kissed him full on, tongue and everything; then murmuring the only thing they said aside from the following moans and groans.

"When you need to forget about the pain… call me."

---

Those words had circled in Cloud's mind again and again during the following weeks, making him wonder what it was that the redhead had seen in his eyes; not to mention what it was that he felt towards the other and how this would affect everything from hereon.

What he had felt that night had come back to haunt him, because at the same thing that it had relieved him tremendously the knowledge of what he'd done would hurt Tifa bore him down, not to mention that their relationship with one another had been more restricted than ever before. He just hadn't been able to face her on that matter.

Or well, it had been restricted more in the sense of that he didn't talk much to her, other than that he tried to care for the children and her more. Logically he knew that himself and Reno had nothing but that physical attraction to one another, and that the bond he shared with Tifa ran deeper than anything that Reno could ever inflict on him.

Then why was it that he felt this way? Why did that sentence continue to repeat itself inside of his head? Because he wanted the pain to vanish? Because he felt as if Reno had already gotten far underneath his skin? Because maybe there was some way that Reno could heal the wounds he himself couldn't? Or maybe even because Reno didn't demand things of him?

Cloud didn't know.

And then two days ago Reno had called; and without meaning to Cloud had come here, unable to stop himself.

Shaking his head to himself Cloud picked up the card from the table, tossing enough coin on the table before he too left, nodding goodbye to Terra.

Maybe a drive would clear his mind. Maybe he'd talk to Tifa, or maybe he'd even let things be the way they were, not moving anything from their original spot. Let the 'thing' with Reno remain in the past.

Maybe.

His hand never strayed far from the crumpled business card in his pocket.


	2. Part two

**Title: **What's love got to do with it? – Part Two  
**Rating: **G  
**Realm: **Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children  
**Pairings: **RenoxCloud, CloudxTifa  
**Genre: **romance, drama  
**Warnings: **Umm… nothing really.  
**Word-count**:1093  
**Summary: **Reno offers Cloud something that they both want, however Cloud manages to make things more complicated than what would appear at first sight.  
**Notes: **This part was really tough for me to write, I tried to make this as realistic as possible; but I'm not sure I made it through.  
**Beta**: the awesome **youko no hisui (Livejournal) **has made this readable

- - -

Three days had passed since Cloud had last seen Reno, the other having left him alone since their meeting at Terra's bar. Three days during which Cloud had been thinking more than ever before, about what he wanted with Reno and life in general.

Cloud hadn't spoken to Tifa yet; however, he warily approached her on that fourth day as she sat behind the bar of Seventh Heaven and leafed through the newspaper she'd picked up a few hours ago; a half-finished cup of coffee was in her hand.

"Tifa…" he began, watching how she almost instantly looked up, a look of happiness on her face, only to see it dissolve into a more cautious one as she saw his facial expression.

"We need to talk."

Wordlessly, Tifa went over to the entrance of her bar, though she sometimes let him take care of it, and locked the door. For a brief moment, she glanced up towards their living quarters, silently communicating that though they had their privacy for the moment, the children were still in the building.

"I don't know where to begin," Cloud said after what seemed like an eternity of silence. "It's all so confusing, he-" Cloud stopped mid-sentence, uncertain on how to bring this subject up. "I…" He just shook his head to himself, letting soft blonde bangs hide his eyes.

Suddenly, Tifa made a small 'oh' of understanding, and she gave the briefest of smiles before motioning towards the barstools. She settled down on the stool next to Cloud, their knees touching. "This is about Reno, isn't it?"

Cloud looked at her for the briefest moment before glancing away and saying nothing, forcing down the instinct to violently deny that this had anything to do with the redheaded Turk. Finally, he gave a curt nod, and Tifa grasped his right hand, squeezing gently.

"Cloud, I've known you since we were little," she said in a surprisingly soft tone of voice, like when comforting a small child or a frightened animal… or a startled chocobo-head. The words crossed Tifa's mind before she could stop them. _Reno would say that. He would have totally butted in with his comments like they were so important, if he were here._ She blocked out her mental image of a laughing Reno and focused on the matter at hand.

"I've always known that you were… drawn… to men."

At this, Cloud met the depths of her chocolate brown eyes, his eyes full of so many emotions—surprise and shock to her insight at the forefront; she had known things about him that he hadn't even realized himself until just recently.

After pausing for several seconds, she continued quietly, without the slightest trace of humour in her voice.

"To be quite honest, I half-expected you to already be with him. I can't pretend that it hasn't been eating at me, picturing you with someone else," and here Tifa lowered her head to look at their interlinked hands. "But at the same time, I know that it's unavoidable."

They were silent for some minutes, and then Cloud raised his hands to gently cup her face. His thumbs caressed her cheekbones before he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

"I can't believe that you accept this," he murmured.

"Not accepting it would mean losing you."

There was bitterness in her voice at that statement, and Cloud shook his head, drawing back from her a little so they looked one another in the eye.

"I'd never leave you and the kids," Cloud protested. "You're my family. Reno is…" the ex-SOLDIER paused for a moment, trying to find a word suitable for the redhead, but found himself unable to do so. "…Reno. Even though I know that Reno and myself have nothing more than a physical attraction towards one another, it feels as if I should feel something more towards him, like I owe him that much. But I don't."

Tifa shook her head and gave the barest of scoffs, rising up from her seat and walking around him. As she moved, she let her hand drag around his shoulder in a familiar manner.

"I know that you care about us, Cloud," she said with a small sigh, walking over to stand on the other side of the bar, opposite him. "But not everything is about love. Sometimes it's just about what the body needs."

Somehow it felt very bizarre that the love of his life was telling him about that sometimes you just had to get laid and that it had nothing to do with feelings at all; but then again, he was the one who had initiated this discussion. Or, well, technically, it was Reno who had first brought it up, but who was counting anyhow?

"I never thought I'd hear those words from you," Cloud said with a slightly crooked smile, showing a side that he rarely let anyone but Tifa see—the one from when they'd been young.

Tifa shook her head slowly. "I think I'm taking this so calmly because, in a way, you're far younger than your real age."

Cloud frowned and looked at her searchingly, but she offered no explanation to her words. Finally, he just shook his head as well and said nothing.

A silence spread between the two of them—one unlike any other silence that had ever stretched out in their company. Cloud knew that he now had Tifa's permission to see Reno, but how do you really continue a conversation when you are with lover A who knows that you wish to be with lover B? At length, he sighed and rose from his chair, walking towards the door, figuring he would take a ride on his Fenrir.

"Cloud," Tifa called just as he reached the door. The blonde turned around and looked back at her. He saw that she had turned to do something by the coffee maker, her back turned to him.

"Yes?"

"If he hurts you, I'll kill him."

Bright, emerald-green eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he gave a nod and the barest of smiles.

"I know you will… And Tifa?" He paused.

"Thank you."

After the door closed behind him, he failed to notice the heart-rending sob that escaped Tifa as she broke down completely, unable to uphold the mask of calm any longer.

They said that if you truly loved someone, you had to let them go—but saying it and actually doing it were completely different matters. It seemed to be that no matter what—love hurt.


End file.
